a block away from my place, his face was on the back of a milk carton pasted on a billboard, a street artist’s call to action.

despite what you may think of this man and his work as president, it is easy to forget that he inherited a crippled nation on the verge of collapse from a moron, a war criminal at best, the worst leader the u.s. has ever been subjected to.

to unravel eight years of pillage and plunder is an almost impossible task.

that he is even willing to try to lead a country paralyzed by debt, greed, fear, war, corruption, opposing worldviews and corporate interest is admirable.

there is so much to say about this brilliant artist, a living epitome of meaning, uniqueness and talent in an age so devoid of it.

san francisco has been graced with his presence this past week (coinciding with his hilarious film exit through the gift shop). banksy seems to have ignited a reaction and a resonance with everyone.

he seems to be enjoying himself, visiting (and leaving his mark) on the prominent sites of this beautiful city (check out his site to see where he has been), downtown, mission, haight-ashbury, alcatraz, even the mountains, where he shows bin laden inviting you to laden him on a ruin overlooking the golden gate bridge.

i quickly planned a route, got my camera, hopped on my bike and was on my way.

i was amazed by what i saw upon arriving to the first piece of my trip (the one in chinatown).

not only had someone tried to erase it already by covering it over with yellow paint, but it was now restored and protected!

having recognized the beauty, value and rarity of it, someone cleaned it up, drilled acrylic panel covers on top of it and placed signs in both chinese and typical chinatown english stating: ‘please help us preserve this piece of art! it’s very hard to get it, and destroying it means the lost for everybody!’

i couldn’t help but smile at this great ‘only in san francisco’ moment, where even a piece of graffiti can be understood for its transcendental value and be embraced and acclaimed by the city and its people, as opposed to typical rejection and elimination. i’m not sure what banksy would think of this, but i am sure he’d get a kick out of it.

his themes tend to remind us of the need for (or lack of) peace, love and open mindedness in this world, with a great and dark sense of humor.